The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - Sweet As Pie
Monday is here again. Don’t worry, we’ll provide you with a ray of sunshine and a little something about the world of sports to sweeten your day.
Sweet as pie,
The Last Night’s Game Team
PS - Only 18 days until the start of the Olympics! Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for all the Olympic excitement.
Golf
- Age ain’t nothing but a number. The Open wrapped up yesterday in Scotland and age seemed to be the most important factor in a field of youngins. Phil Mickelson (46) and Henrik Stenson (40) went back and forth with the lead in what became a two-man race for the win. Stenson ultimately prevailed as the winner. He is the first Major winner from the country of Sweden. (The Majors are the four big tournaments in golf).
NFL (National Football League)
- Fight over football. After over 500 days of a legal battle concerning deflated footballs, New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady has given up his fight to have his four game suspension overturned by the next step in the legal system, the Supreme Court. Yes, the Supreme Court. Brady will miss the first four games of the season.
But don’t worry ladies, Brady’s backup, Jimmy Garoppolo, will fill the void in your hearts. Although no word on his in-game skills as it’s the first time the Patriots will start a quarterback not named Tom Brady since 2008.
NBA (National Basketball Association)
- Shootin’ hoops. The NBA summer league final game is set for tonight and the Minnesota Timberwolves team will play the Chicago Bulls team for the championship. The summer league is a launching pad for NBA talent where first and second year players get a chance to show off their skills in hopes of becoming the next LeBron or Michael Jordan.
NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
- Breaking the law. Matt Kenseth won the race in New Hampshire this weekend. The high of victory didn’t last long as Kenseth’s car failed the post-race inspection. The team’s penalty will be announced on Wednesday after further review.
- Don’t call it a comeback. Sunday’s race was missing one of NASCAR’s biggest stars, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who was unable to race due to concussion-like symptoms. If Earnhardt is unable to race next weekend, retired legendary driver and current commentator, Jeff Gordon, will take over the driving responsibility for the Nationwide #88 (Earnhardt’s) team.
Overtime
- Former NFL running back Jahvid Best, who had his football career cut short due to injuries, has reinvented himself and will be the first former NFL player to compete in the Olympics. Best will compete for St. Lucia in the 100-meter race.
Sideline stat
- Tom Brady’s financial team was prepared that Brady may have to serve out his four game suspension. In the offseason they renegotiated his contract adjusting his salary for this year to just $1 million, down from $9 million. This move will save him almost $2 million which would’ve been lost salary. (Players forfeit their prorated game salary if suspended). In case you were wondering, minimum salary for an NFL player with 10+ years experience (like Brady) is $985,000/year.
Coaches’ corner
- What does it mean to fail NASCAR’s post-race inspections? All cars must face a post-race examination to ensure that the cars meet the standards set by NASCAR. Kenseth’s car did not meet the requirements in the laser inspection station. Another example, a team earlier in the year was found to have a rigged 22-gallon fuel tank that read full but only contained five gallons of gas during a qualifying race. NASCAR rules call for a car to have a full tank of gas. Less fuel makes the car lighter (i.e. faster) or allows the crew to put the weight in a more advantageous place for a faster race.
The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up - The Ultimate BBQ Ice Breaker
We interrupt your regularly scheduled Fourth of July festivities to bring you the one thing you need for today’s BBQ. No it’s not potato chips, burgers or fireworks. It’s the ultimate icebreaker - today’s rundown.
Life, liberty and the pursuit of sports knowledge,
The Last Night’s Game Team
F1 (Formula One Racing)
Stop hitting your brother. Lewis Hamilton won in Austria after passing teammate Nico Rosberg on the last lap. On the final lap, Rosberg ran into Hamilton in an attempt to block him from winning. That’s not going to go over well at the family dinner table.
MLB (Major League Baseball)
Thank you. Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins played the first ever regular season game on a military base yesterday at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Marlins beat Braves in front of over 12,500 military personnel. The stadium, which was constructed for the game, will be converted postgame into a multipurpose recreational facility to be used by servicemen and their families.
No class. Tickets to the Fort Bragg game were awarded through a lottery only to active members of the military and their families. Somehow Zack Hampton, who’s notable for his ability to catch foul balls and home runs, made it into the stadium. “Ball Hawk,” as he’s known, went on to catch 11 balls during the game he wasn’t even supposed to be at. People found out and rightfully so, shamed the heck out of him on social media. Shamers included the 82nd Airborne Division which is headquartered on the base. Just plain wrong Ball Hawk.
NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
Daytona domination. Brad Keselowski controlled the race at Daytona (Florida) on Saturday night, leading 115 of 161 laps, to take home the victory.
Olympics
Runs in the family. Vashti Cunningham, daughter of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham, will be representing the U.S. in the high jump. Cunningham, who just graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, is foregoing college to turn pro and recognize her dream of competing in the Olympics. At age 18, she is the youngest U.S. track and field Olympian in 36 years.
Soccer
No fairy tale ending here. The Euro 2016 semifinals are set and unfortunately underdog Iceland did not move on. Their historic run in the tournament came to an end this weekend against France when they lost 5-2. Click here for the semifinals schedule.
Wimbledon
Ousted. American Sam Querrey stunned the tennis world by taking down #1 Novak Djokovic on Saturday. Djokovic had won the previous four major tournaments.
Williams win. Looking to keep her title, Wimbledon defending champion Serena Williams won her 300th grand slam match at the tournament this weekend.
Overtime
In a “sport” that’s both painful and nauseating to watch, today marks the 100th anniversary of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. (12 pm EST on ESPN). Joey Chestnut is looking to regain his title after a loss last year to Matt Stonie. On the women’s side, Miki “The Black Widow” Sudo looks to win her third consecutive title.
Sideline stat
The goal of the contest, which is held in Coney Island, is to eat as many hot dogs (buns too) as possible in 10 minutes. Last year’s winner Matt Stonie ate 62 hot dogs. Stonie also holds other eating records including 200 Peeps in five minutes and 14.5 pounds of birthday cake in eight minutes. Don’t try this at home.
Coaches’ Corner
The field of hot dog eaters is comprised of 20 professional eaters. There is one spot in the famed contest called the “Plimpton Seat,” which is designated for a member of the media. This year Dan “Barstool Big Cat” Katz of Bartsool Sports will be filling that spot. He must have drawn the short straw.
The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition - No Adults Allowed
Not in the mood to adult today? We’re right there with you on this Monday. We’ll help you get ahead of those fast typing, sports talking colleagues with today’s Rundown. So go ahead and have that donut with your coffee – you can be an adult tomorrow.
We like the ones with sprinkles,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NCAA BASEBALL (COLLEGE)
- Underdogs prevail. The College World Series championship series is set and features two unlikely opponents. University of Arizona and Coastal Carolina, who both rose up from the loser’s bracket to make it to the finals, will play a best-of-three series starting tonight (7 pm EST, ESPN) to determine the champion.
NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)
- Full steam ahead. In his last season as a driver, Tony Stewart snapped his 84 race winless streak on Sunday with a win in Sonoma. Until this weekend Stewart had not won a race since June 2013. In August 2014 Stewart killed another driver who was walking on the race track in a non-NASCAR, dirt track race and hasn’t been the same since. Now he has something to look forward to as he’s in the mix for the championship.
PGA (PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS' ASSOCIATION)
- Time to regroup. The PGA tour has cancelled its upcoming tournament the Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia (scheduled July 7-10) due to massive flooding. This is the first time since 2009 that the PGA has cancelled an entire tournament. Professional golfer Bubba Watson lives on the course at Greenbrier and he shared photos of the devastation.
Soccer
- Things got Messi. Defending champions Team Chile and Team Argentina played in the championship for the Copa America Centenario title yesterday. After 90 minutes of regular play and 30 minutes of extra time the two teams were still tied at a big fat zero. Next up penalty kicks. The first kicker for Argentina was Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in the world. Scary right? Well he missed his shot. Argentina missed another penalty kick while Chile did not. Team Chile emerged as the winners of 2016 Copa America Centenario.
A frustrated Messi indicated in postgame interviews that he will retire from the Argentinian national team.
- Not quite on the medal stand. Team U.S.A. lost to Columbia 1-0 in Saturday’s third place game, finishing in fourth place in the Copa America Centenario.
Overtime
- When TCU (Texas Christian University) played Coastal Carolina in the College World Series over the weekend, proud alum Jake Arrieta (TCU) and his Chicago Cubs teammate Tommy La Stella (Coastal Carolina) made a bet. The bet was that the loser would have to get a tattoo of the opposing school's mascot. What could go wrong there? Coastal Carolina beat TCU two game in a row to make it to the championship series. Arrieta better be ready to become lifelong friends with the mascot, a chanticleer.
What is a chanticleer you ask? We didn’t know either. It’s a fierce rooster out of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Wow look out for the fierce roosters. What school’s mascot makes you go hmmm? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter.
Sideline stat
- Rising above the Brexit chaos, Wimbledon starts today. The tournament is one of the four major tournaments in professional tennis. The grueling tournament finishes July 10th. Pete Sampras was the last American man to win Wimbledon in 2000 and Serena Williams won last year for the ladies.
Coaches’ Corner
- What does it mean end the match in penalty kicks? Many soccer matches can end in a tie (aka a draw) but matches such as a championship game must determine a winner, therefore a tie is not acceptable. If both teams are still tied in an elimination game after regulation time and extra time (120 minutes of play total - that’s a whole lot of running around) they then resort to penalty kicks. In the first round, each team selects five players to kick. The teams alternate kickers who go one-on-one with the opposing goalie in an attempt to score a goal. The team that scores the most goals wins. Getting technical here, if after the first round the teams are still tied, five new players are chosen and the process repeats until a winner is determined. Learn more here.